After last year’s tsunami in Japan, millions of tons of debris floated across the Pacific, some of it reaching all the way to the West Coast of the U.S. Now, someone is going to have to pay to clean it up. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner are in China today and some of the focus is on on a blind Chinese dissident who took refuge at the U.S. embassy in Beijing. And this election year, you’re going to hear a lot about government regulations, and whether they’re too tough or not tough enough.  

President Obama said last night during his speech in Kabul, Afghanistan that the goal is for Afghan forces to lead combat operations by next year. Here in this country we’ll get some indication this morning of how the housing market is doing. Another way to gauge the health of the housing market, of course, is to check one of those websites like Zillow or Trulia. Executives from the online TV site Hulu are in New York today — along with their counterparts from Yahoo, Youtube and AOL — selling their content to advertisers. Elsewhere in New York, the painting known as The Scream goes on auction at Sotheby’s.

Exxon Mobil trades off with Apple as the top company in the U.S., but most Americans still know very little about it. A new book out today could change that. Later this morning, we’ll find out whether the big auto companies were still selling lots of cars in April. And what do high sales mean for auto workers? Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines is buying an oil refinery in an attempt to cut costs.

This week, two countries at the center of the European debt crisis will hold elections; and in some ways, the eurozone is a lot like a bar. In New York City, One World Trade Center will become the tallest building in the city. And when can spying on workers actually be a good thing?

Billionaire businessman Sir Richard Branson, the chairman of Virgin Group, was in Washington yesterday for a forum hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on how businesses can help solve the world’s problems. But why has he been able to succeed on a platform of “screw business and usual.” Samsung reported record quarterly profits today, driven in big part by sales of is smartphones. So should global smartphone leader Apple be worried? And later today, Marketplace’s Kai Ryssdal sits down with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to talk recession and recovery.

The Federal Reserve is not taking any major new steps to help the economy at this time — but it will spring into action if there’s another slowdown. US Airways is trying to buy the bankrupt American Airlines, and it’s making a lot of promises — but can it keep them if the merger goes through? Pepsico is reporting earnings today, and as the cost of ingredients rises, one factory is looking towards sustainability to save dough. And Burger King says that within the next five years, it will buy only cage-free eggs and pork.

Today, President Obama will be in Iowa talking to college students about their student loans. Are the cheaper groceries available wholesale clubs like Costco and Sam’s Club worth the price of membership? Residents in two towns — halfway across the world from one another — are putting together a tourism partnership based around their less-than-scintillating names. And a study from the group Climate Central says America’s energy industry is at risk, because sea levels are rising along the coasts where we produce much of our fuel.

It’s a big day for Election 2012, with primaries in five states. Marketplace’s David Gura takes a look at why Wall Street might be switching teams this time around. The tourism industry in America teams up with the government for the first time to launch a global marketing campaign. After a rocky few weeks in the stock market, we find out today how Apple’s earnings are doing. And in New York City, a look at the richest and poorest Congressional districts in the nation.

France is one step closer to replacing its conservative president with a socialist one. Ahead of the primaries tomorrow, Marketplace’s David Gura visited two zip codes in Manhattan separated by Central Park which have donated the most money of any two neighborhoods in the country — just to opposite candidates. There’s a new lightbulb on sale this morning for the low low price of $60. And months after the Occupy Wall Street movement began, some members are looking towards public office.